


Carry On Camping

by AquaMarina (LittlePandemonium)



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22175905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlePandemonium/pseuds/AquaMarina
Summary: The boys go camping together.
Relationships: Tracy Family - Relationship
Kudos: 10





	Carry On Camping

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I've been writing a few Supermarionation related stories and I finally managed to finish this one! Hope you enjoy it!

"Are we there yet?"

"Gordon, this is the third time you've asked in five minutes!" Scott snapped, finally losing his temper at the redhead's constant complaining. "We get there when we get there!"

"But I'm so tired! I feel like my legs are going to give way any second now! We've been walking for hours!" Gordon complained, drooping his shoulders dramatically as he followed his brothers along the narrow pathway leading to the fields nearby. He swatted away at the undergrowth obstructing the footpath they were walking down. One swiped bush recoiled back sharply, hitting Alan in the face. The small blonde grumbled, flicking it away as he shot the auburn a glare.

Scott just rolled his eyes, "Can it Gordon. We're almost there now."

Gordon pouted in response and readjusted the bag strap over his shoulder. He looked over at John, who was carrying a yawning Virgil on his back. He poked the artist. "Virg, don't you think John needs a rest from carrying your heavy butt around? There are no spiders here."

"That's what you think. They're hiding in the undergrowth, getting ready to strike when I least expect it. I'm not moving another inch on my own until I know the enemy aren't in our territory!"

"Geez Virge, it's not World War One." John rolled his eyes and readjusted his grip on Virgil's legs, giving him a small boost up his back. Half a mile back, the middle Tracy had had an unfortunate encounter with a large spider that had somehow made its way up the teenager's leg without being spotted. Virgil, being deathly afraid of spiders, screamed the park down when he noticed the creature. It taken all four of his brothers to calm him down and restrain him from taking off over the fields to get it off himself. After the creature had been removed from his person by Scott, who managed to flick it away with a big stick, Virgil had clambered up John's back for protection and hadn't moved since. Although tall and lean, John wasn't as physically strong as Scott and was now admittedly getting tired carrying him.

"You're such a baby, Virgil." Gordon teased, taking a few strides forward. He bumped into Scott, who had stopped for a moment, checking the large map he was carrying. He rubbed his nose and looked up at his older brother.

"Are you sure we're heading the right way?" Scott quizzed, glancing around at their surroundings.

"We're not lost, are we?" Alan piped up, trying to take the map from Scott. The seventeen year old placed his hand on the smaller blonde's head, gently pushing him back down.

"No, of course not! I'm sixty percent sure of where we are. Maybe fifty percent. Darn, I wish dad would've let us bring our phones here. They'd be much better help than this crummy map." He turned it around and frowned, trying to make sense of it.

"Well that's what you get for telling him you wanted to experience nature in its full glory." sniped Gordon.

A panting John made his way over to Scott. "Trade?"

Smiling at his weary brother, Scott grabbed Virgil and pried him off John's back, allowing the smaller teen to manoeuvre around his own chest and then onto his back so he could cling to the large backpack Scott was wearing. He then passed John the map. "Any thoughts?"

John span the map around and looked ahead, trying to gain his bearings. "I think we are going the right way, but the problem is this map seems to be one hundred years out of date. According to the map, if we carry on the way we're going, we're supposed to hit a small bridge, but I know for a fact grandma said that the bridge has deteriorated now, so there's no way of passing the river."

"Does that mean we'll have to swim across?" Gordon's eyes lit up, the pose of the boy suggesting he was about to dart off and find said river. Scott quickly grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him back.

"No, but it does mean that we can set camp by the river. That way we don't have to go any further than we have to."

"Yay! Let's camp there then!" The youngest brothers shared an elated look.

The boys started walking again, crossing the threshold of the forest before strolling down the grassy mount which led down to the river. Gordon and Alan arrived first, the redhead's face immediately dropping after seeing that the river was too shallow to swim in. He folded his arms crossly and sat down in a huff, Alan doing the same thing next to him, albeit less annoyed.

Scott and John arrived at the clearing a few moments after, and Scott crouched down so Virgil could step off his back. The middle brother looked down at the grass, trying to find any signs of large insects. Gordon saw what he was doing and felt his mouth rise into a smirk. "Virgil, spider!"

Virgil jumped a foot in the air and impressively landed in John's arms. The two youngest siblings laughed at his violent reaction. Virgil sent a death glare at the pair of them, as did his older brothers, who knew that Gordon wasn't helping the situation. John lowered Virgil down and the artist moodily sat on a tree stump sticking from the ground.

"Alright, what's for dinner?"

Scott shot Gordon another irritated look and shifted the large rucksack off his back, dumping it on the floor. He opened it and began taking out the contents. "Right, first things first, we have to make a fire. John? You take the Terrible Two to collect some firewood, Virgil and I will stay here and put the tent up."

"Why do we have to get the firewood?" Alan complained.

"For teasing Virgil. Plus I don't want you or Gordon stabbing each other with the tent poles."

John smirked and grabbed the duo's hands, quickly dispelling their newfound dreams of re-enacting swashbuckling movie scenes with said poles, and started walking back up the hill towards the forest. "We'll be right back!"

Scott nodded and turned back to Virgil, who was still sitting on the stump, arms and legs crossed indignantly. Scott raised an eyebrow and chucked a smaller bag at him. "Unzip this and get the tent out. I'll start sorting the pegs."

Virgil did as he was told. After he finished he returned his attention to Scott, who was now staring distainfully at the numerous tools laying in front of him. "Scott, do you actually know what you're doing?"

"Of course I do, no sweat." he replied briskly, picking up one of the pegs.

Virgil stood up and brought the tent over to his brother, the two of them beginning to work as a team to assemble it. Considering how difficult it was to put up, the two brothers were actually enjoying themselves. It was fun for Virgil to watch as Scott fought with the tent poles, making sure they were bending in the right direction, and the two ended up falling into a fit of giggles when one of the poles snapped out of shape, causing the tent to spring upwards and then collapse on the duo. After a few more attempts, the pair got the tent up. As Scott hammered in the last peg, John, Alan and Gordon arrived back with the logs, dropping them into the safest spot for them to create the fire. Seeing that the tent was up, the two youngest dove inside it, the older blonde looking on in appreciation.

John whistled. "Nice work fellas! Glad I wasn't lumbered with the task of getting it up! How many attempts were made?"

"Seven." Virgil snorted, amused by the defeated look on Scott's face.

"Yeah, well, enough about that. You got the logs, yeah?" Scott peered down at the small log pile and nodded his head approvingly. "Nice one. Right, I know you're probably expecting me to get down on one knee and start doing all of that stick rubbing business to create the fire, but I decided it would be easier to just use a lighter." he pulled one out of his pocket, swiftly flicking it to set the logs alight. John raised an eyebrow.

"And you have a lighter because?"

Scott gave him a sheepish look, "It's not mine, it belongs to Dave. His dad likes to regularly search him because he's kinda caught on that Dave might be smoking and his dad despises it. He wanted me to keep it safe for him."

"You haven't used it yourself though, right?" Virgil asked, hoping the answer was no. He knew that their own dad would no doubtedly kill his eldest son if he found out he was smoking.

"Of course not! Smoking's gross. My ex-girlfriend used to do it sometimes and it made her smell so bad. It was like kissing an ashtray."

"Too much information!" John grimaced, taking a seat on Virgil's tree stump.

"You never told us that before." Virgil frowned, crouching over the fire to absorb its warmth.

"I don't tell you everything, kiddo. Besides, you are still young."

"I'm not that young!"

"Yet you still like to be carried by your older brothers?" John grinned as Virgil started to blush at his statement. The artist turned away, looking into the fire.

"So, what's for dinner?"

The three boys turned to see Gordon now outside of the tent, having trapped Alan inside it. He'd zipped up the flaps and attached the outside flap zip to the end of the tent's ribbon, knowing his little brother wouldn't be able to reach it to free himself. Scott rolled his eyes. "Well you're not having anything until you free Alan, mister."

With a groan, Gordon turned back to the tent and set about freeing his only younger brother. John turned to Scott. "He has a point though, what ARE we going to eat? You did bring food right?"

Scott pulled the rucksack up to his chest and started rummaging around it. He paled, looking up at John and Virgil with distress in his eyes, causing the other two to panic.

"What? What is it?"

"You haven't forgotten the food, have you?"

"Scott?"

Scott suddenly relaxed his facial expression and pulled out a bag of potato chips, causing his brothers to scowl.

"You jerk! I thought we were in serious trouble then!"

"Yeah, since when do you have a sense of humour anyway?" John added, watching as Scott pulled out the rest of the snacks. Gordon and Alan rejoined and sat with their legs crossed next to Virgil, who was now sitting on a blanket by to the fire. The boys watched hungrily as Scott pulled out a packet of sausages, passing them to John who quickly started opening them. The oldest brother passed a tin of beans to Virgil, along with a tin opener, and he got to work on the lid before passing them to John, who had started cooking the sausages on the fire. Scott threw two bags of tortilla chips over to his youngest siblings who happily started munching away on them.

After a few minutes had passed, the sausages and beans were finally cooked and John began distributing them around into the small metal bowls they'd bought especially for the camping trip. Naturally Gordon had made a comment about them looking like dog bowls, but the other brothers had ignored him and tucked into their food.

Darkness started to fall over the campsite and the glow from the fire trailed up into the air, making for a perfect contrast against the indigo hue of the sky.

The boys soon finished eating. John collected the bowls and Scott retrieved a few bottles of Gatorade out of his bag, passing them around to his siblings. Gordon grinned as his favourite flavoured drink met his lips, gulping loudly, an act which Alan mirrored with his own drink. He wiped his lips, screwed the lid back on and turned back to his older brothers.

"So, where are the marshmallows?"

There was a long silence.

Scott and John slowly turned their heads to examine Virgil, who was now looking pale. Gordon felt his heart leap in his chest, and before he could say anything, Alan beat him to it.

"You did bring them, right?" the six year old asked, narrowing his eyes when he received no response.

Virgil gulped, "I, um... may have forgotten them?"

All four of his brothers let out an enormous groan.

"Virg, you had one job!"

"Seriously?"

"Dude, weak!"

"No fair!"

"I'm sorry!" Virgil cried, putting his head in his hands. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten to bring the most essential part of the camping trip. He'd suddenly remembered that he was supposed to bring them when the boys first reached the forest, so kept the information to himself out of fear. He knew his brothers had been depending on him and he felt bad for letting them down. If only he hadn't been so distracted by sketching before the trip! He flinched as a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around him, looking up to see John's cheery face.

"It's okay Virg. You may have forgotten the marshmallows, but your big brother Johnny here managed to sneak out a stash of chocolate bars." The blonde pulled up a bag, causing Virgil to smile. "And I also managed to sneak out a few bags of candy, just in case the chocolate melted on the way here."

"You think of everything, don't you?"

"Yep. Needed a back up for my back up." He cheerfully held out the bag for Gordon and Alan to scrounge around in. He winked at Scott, who gave him a smile.

"How did you manage to sneak that past Grandma, John? She caught me trying to take the pie out of the kitchen."

Gordon nearly choked on a slab of chocolate, "You tried to sneak the pie out of the kitchen?"

"Well, yeah."

His brothers couldn't help but laugh at their older brother. He always had the best intentions at heart but was never quite able to pull them off as well as he'd liked.

"Just the pie? Or was it in its container?"

Scott frowned, "In its container of course! What do you think I am, stupid?"

"You said it, not us!" Alan squealed, causing the boys to laugh harder. Scott pouted and glumly bit into his chocolate bar.

As the night continued, the stars soon came out and all five boys felt themselves gazing up at the sky. The moon was full and its aura was bright, reflecting down onto the river beside them. It seemed forever that the boys remained silent, all staring up at the sky as they pondered the day's events. Scott placed his hands behind his head as he looked up at the distant stars, wondering if their mother was watching them.

"Do... do you think mom's watching us?" Scott had to blink as Alan spoke his exact thought aloud. He looked over at the small blonde laying on his back with an air of sadness.

"Yeah... I think she is." "John replied wistfully, pose almost parallel to the younger blonde's.

"I miss her." Gordon admitted sadly, eyes honing in on one particular star.

"We all do." Virgil sighed, gaze falling from the sky as he looked into the fire's flickering flames.

Scott bit his tongue, trying to hold back his own emotions. "Well, if she saw us now she'd be proud. Happy, and proud."

"Yeah," Virgil smiled, "Very proud of us."

"And of dad!" Gordon put in, "And grandma too! She'd be proud of us all."

Scott sat up and rested one hand on his knee, the other balancing on the floor. "And with that, I think it's bedtime."

Gordon and Alan shot him a look of betrayal. "But it's still early!" they chorused, shaking their heads in unison.

John checked his watch, "Wowee! It's later than I thought! Bedtime indeed, kiddos! Get in the tent and into your sleeping bags. We'll be with you shortly."

"We will?" Virgil asked, turning to the older blonde, "But aren't you going to stargaze?" The family knew that John never went to bed at the time he was supposed to, instead staying up half the night to watch the stars unfold before him through his beloved telescope.

"Today's different." he swiftly replied, heading over to the tent himself. "Coming Scott?"

"Yeah I will in a mo', just gonna sort out the fire."

Virgil yawned as he stood up, picking up the blanket and carrying it over to the tent. He followed John through the wide hatch and dropped the blanket inside, pushing it into one of the tent corners so it wouldn't get in the way. The tent was more spacious than he thought it would be - but then again, it had to be if it were to hold five growing Tracy boys. He grinned at Gordon and Alan who were now in their pyjamas and tightly wrapped up in their sleeping bags, laying next to each other on the right side of the tent. John was currently sliding into his own sleeping bag and had gotten Virgil's out ready for him.

After pulling on his onesie, Virgil slipped into his own sleeping bag and ended up wedged between Gordon and John, feeling himself smile at how ridiculous they probably looked. Scott soon stepped into the tent and zipped up the door, turning to see his four brothers laying in a row. He let out a laugh and pulled off his shirt and jeans, getting into his own sleeping bag next to John.

The five sat there in silence for a few moments, before a small squeak was heard, causing the two kids to erupt into a fit of laughter.

"Gordon! That's gross!" Virgil complained, turning the other way in his sleeping bag so that he was facing John, who looked back at him bemusedly.

"Tonight's going to be a fun one. If we get any sleep at all we'll be lucky."

And he was right. For the next hour the boys spent their time unintentionally making themselves laugh, what with Gordon and Alan's silly noises and the older three finding their unusually close contact hilarious, causing them all to keep laughing for no apparent reason. Soon the Terrible Two calmed down and drifted to sleep, along with Virgil and Scott, then finally John, who relaxed himself into unconsciousness.

A few hours later, John woke abruptly. It took him a few moments to remember where he was, but soon realised he was still in the tent with his brothers. He slowly shifted in his sleeping bag and moved his watch up to his face, wincing as the bright digits confirmed the time. It was 2:45am. John couldn't have been asleep for more than two hours, so was confused to why he'd randomly woken up. He shifted in his bag and turned to face Scott, who was still asleep, and frowned. Scott was the lightest sleeper out of the boys and if something would've startled them, the oldest teen would've picked up on it.

A low howl was heard outside, and John felt himself become more alert, sitting upright in his bag. The noise awoke Scott, who yawned and picked himself up when he saw John sitting upright. "What's up?" he whispered to the blonde.

"I think there's a wolf outside the tent." he hissed back, listening out for any other howling noises.

Scott frowned and listened out for the noises. Another low howl was heard and Scott bit his lip, trying to think of a way to keep the wolf away and his siblings safe. He reached over to the bag and pulled out a whistle, knowing that the shrill sound of it would probably ward off the creature, but wake his youngest siblings.

John promptly took the whistle from him and blew it loudly, having the intended effect on the wolf who ran away at the sound. Gordon and Alan stirred at the noise, but as expected, Virgil had not.

Alan turned over in his bag and decided that the noise wasn't worth wasting sleep over, so he promptly fell back into his slumber. However, Gordon sat up. "What was that?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

John held up the whistle, which Gordon could just about make out in the darkness. "There was a wolf but it's gone now!" John replied.

Gordon opened his mouth to say a simple "Oh." before crashing back down to the floor, falling asleep again, his older brothers following suit.

The next morning, Gordon woke up to the feeling of Alan poking him in the side. He opened his eyes and groaned as Alan's bright face loomed over him, a wide grin plastered on it. Gordon sat up and looked over at his other sleeping siblings, a smirk forming on his own face. It was the perfect time to cause mischief.

Glancing over at Alan, the redhead grinned as his younger brother pulled up a bottle of water that John had given him before sleeping the previous night. Unscrewing the lid, he handed it to Gordon who slowly started leaning towards Virgil, intending to wake him with a little splash.

"Don't even try it."

Gordon smiled sheepishly as a fully awake Scott shot him a pointed look, eyebrow raised. He shook his head, causing Gordon to grin as if challenging his older sibling. Gordon then launched the bottle at Scott but remained holding on to it, causing the liquid to jump out of the bottle. This caught Scott by surprise when he got a faceful of water, along with John and Virgil. John woke abruptly and rubbed his face, opening one eye to see Gordon with the bottle. Virgil, however, remained asleep, having not been phased by the small splash.

Gordon wasn't too happy that he'd missed his main target so tipped the bottle upside down, causing the rest of the water to splash down onto Virgil's face. The artist woke with a start and sat upright, glaring at the laughing redhead.

"Gordon!"

"Morning Gus."

Virgil grabbed Gordon's bottle and threw it into his face. The brunette then closed his eyes and snuggled back down into his sleeping bag, ignoring the wet patches seeping through. Gordon raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders, turning to a yawning John. "Breakfast please?"

John stretched lazily, looking over at his older brother. "Breakfast?"

Scott rolled his eyes, "I suppose that's my cue, then."

"Oh Scott, we all know how much you love making us breakfast!" Gordon giggled, poking his older brother in the ribs.

Scott smirked back and caught Gordon's wrist, pulling the child out of his sleeping bag and into his lap. He tickled his ribs, laughing as the squirming child tried to pull away. Alan soon ran over to assist his stricken brother, leaping into Scott's chest. Scott feigned hurt. "Help, Johnny! I'm being attacked by these little monsters!"

John smiled and got to his feet, pulling a shirt over his head. "Guess I'll be making breakfast then. Good luck Scott!" he called as he left the tent.

"John!"

"Can you guys shut up? I'm trying to sleep." moaned Virgil, pulling Gordon's sleeping bag over his head.

The two younger boys peered up at Scott who was beginning to grin. The teenager knelt across them and scooped up the middle child, hauling him over his shoulder. He exited the tent, tailed by Gordon and Alan. Virgil flopped his arms out pathetically. "Scott! That was totally unfair!"

"You're too lazy. Besides, breakfast is almost ready by the smell of things." He smiled and gently placed him down on the blanket. Scott walked over to where John was cooking some bacon. He crouched down and retrieved some bread rolls out of the bag.

"It's not almost ready, I've just started it. It won't be long, though." John said, flipping the bacon over.

"Good. I'm starving!"

"Not as hungry as that wolf was! He stole the cookies!" Gordon complained, holding out an empty wrapper.

"What wolf?" Virgil asked, rubbing sleep out of his eye.

"The one that attacked camp last night. You were asleep, of course, so missed it." Gordon threw the wrapper at his sleepy brother.

"John?"

John smiled, "Yep, got some in my bag. Get 'em out, would you Gords?"

Gordon pulled up John's bag and buried his hand inside the bag to find the extra cookies. He soon grabbed them and tore open the packaging, stuffing a few into his mouth before handing them to Alan. Naturally Alan copied the prankster.

"Gordon! Alan! Stop being greedy!" Scott frowned, taking the cookies from Alan. He passed them to Virgil and John before taking one himself.

After breakfast, the brothers got changed and started packing all of their things away. Gordon and Alan were given the job of collecting up the litter, John and Virgil dissembled the tent and Scott extinguished the fire, making sure it was safe to leave. The group grabbed their bags and started the journey back home.

"Do you actually know which way we're going this time, Scott?"

"Yup. Ninety nine percent sure. Okay, more like eighty, but I've got John and John always knows best."

"Why thank you, brother of mine! I'll keep that in mind next time I need blackmail material." John grinned, pushing his way through the trees.

"How much longer are we gonna be?" Gordon asked, kicking a stone. "I hate walking."

"We've only just set off. Don't you start already!" Scott frowned, "Do that and we'll tie you to a tree and leave you behind!"

"Would you actually do that though, Scotty?" Alan asked, peering up at his idol with wide innocent eyes.

"Uh, yes. Yes I would." Scott cleared his throat.

"That's mean. You're not mean, are you Scotty?"

"Well no, but-"

"Then take it back!"

Scott grinned, "You've got a very persuasive lawyer on your side there, Gordo."

"I've trained him well." Gordon smiled, giving Alan a hearty thumbs up. Alan saluted back.

"Alright, I concede. But any more wisecracks from either of you wisenheimers and I'll be tying you both to a tree and leaving you here." Scott threatened with a smile.

"You'd have to catch us first!"

"Don't tempt me." Scott grinned.

The boys soon came to a halt when John decided to check the map again. "Okay guys, do you want to go the same way we came or do you want to try a different way?" he asked.

Several choruses of:

"The same way!"

"An easier way!"

"Whichever is the quickest!"

followed.

John rolled his eyes and muttered, "That really doesn't help."

"You asked, blondie." Scott grinned. John sighed and marched ahead, deciding to head the same way they came. The group made their way through fields of green and hedges, still bantering away as they continued their journey.

"-so if you continue like that small fry, I'll be dropping you in the pond!"

"I'm not small!" Virgil insisted.

"Virgil isn't small; he's just vertically challenged." Gordon slipped in, laughing at his own joke. Once Alan thought about it hard enough, he laughed too.

"I get it!"

"Sure you do, Al." Gordon patted Alan on the back. He turned back to Virgil for a moment, wanting to tease him further, but a scream from his younger sibling cut through his thoughts. He turned back to his blonde brother to find out what was wrong with him, but Alan was no longer standing there.

He had gone.

Before his mind could process what had happened to his younger brother, he felt himself being tackled to the ground. He opened his eyes to see Scott cradling him. Virgil and John had leapt to the other side of the growing hole in the ground and Scott looked over at them.

"Sinkhole!" John yelped, clambering away from the deepening cavern. Once the ground tremors had stopped and the ground appeared stable enough, he peered down the pit to see Alan clinging to the side about halfway down. He was only pulled out of his shock when Virgil went to leap head first into the pit after him, causing John to immediately snap his arm back to grab Virgil by the collar.

"Alan's down there!" Virgil cried out.

John held onto his shoulder. "It's too dangerous for you to go after him!"

The blonde looked over at Scott to see him assessing Alan's position. He immediately leant over the side of the hole and attempted to reach their injured sibling. John gasped and ran over to Scott, grabbing his legs just as Scott started to slip down the cavern.

"What are you doing?" he yelled, trying to pull his brother up.

"What does it look like?" Scott snapped back, using John's grip as an anchor to lower himself even more. John remained attached to Scott's legs and looked over at Virgil and Gordon who were now slowly and cautiously approaching them.

"Keep back!" John commanded, causing his siblings to halt.

Alan sniffled as he tried dragging himself out of the hole but a sharp pain shot through his leg. He whimpered.

"Help!"

Alan pulled himself higher but slipped back down on the mud, falling even deeper into the pit. "Help me Scotty!" he cried, voice hoarse. "Help!" He tried to scramble back up the bank but the land caved inwards and deteriorated away at his touch.

"Al'! Up here!" Scott cried, trying to reach for the boy.

Alan could see that Scott was trying to reach out for him and tried leaning up towards his brother but the pain in his leg prevented him from doing so. "I can't reach!" he shouted.

John winced as he felt the weight of his brother beginning to wear on him. Virgil could see this too and tried to dive into action, but John gave him a sharp look.

"John, let me help you!"

"No! The ground is unstable enough as it is!" John forced out, trying to keep a good grip on Scott.

Gordon peered into the sinkhole. "What if Scott used me?"

"No way!"

"But John-"

"No!" he strained, Scott's legs jolting through his hands.

Before he knew it, Virgil was by his side, catching Scott. The two pulled him up to the top and Scott rubbed his sweaty hands through his hair, looking down at the terrified Alan.

"Scott, you have to let me do it!" Gordon's eyes were wide and serious.

"Do what?" he snapped.

"You go down and I'll climb down you to get to Alan!"

"No way!" John screeched, "You're going nowhere near that hole! It's too dangerous!"

"John, just let him! He's smaller than me!"

Scott knew this was not the time to argue, "Okay, we can try. John and Virgil will anchor me. Got it?"

"Yes Scott."

Scott shifted his weight back down the top of the sinkhole. He peered down at Alan, who was desperately trying to scramble up the bank, slipping down in the process. Once Virgil and John had lowered him as far as he could go, Gordon slowly climbed down Scott. Once he'd reached his brother's chest, Scott grabbed Gordon's legs, allowing his brother to swing freely above his head. Gordon immediately made contact with Alan and grabbed his hands.

"I've got him! Pull us up, pull us up!"

With all of their strength, John and Virgil pulled Scott up the bank, who then dragged Gordon and Alan up and into his arms. The boys quickly made their way to safer ground and back up the hill away from the hole.

"Are you okay, Alan?" asked Scott, examining his youngest brother.

Alan hugged Scott tightly. "I'm okay, Scotty. My ankle hurts though. I think I bruised it."

"I'm not surprised! It was quite a tumble you took." John put in, picking up their large rucksack.

Scott lifted Alan onto his shoulders. Alan looked down at Gordon and smiled.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Gords. You were very brave!"

Gordon just bashfully shrugged it off, "You would've done it for me."

"I know."

"Come on, let's go."

"And let's not tell dad about this one. He'll have a fit."

The boys made their way through the forest and soon made it back to civilization. As soon as they could see their house coming up on the street, Virgil and Gordon raced to the front door - Virgil winning by a few seconds, who then knocked on the door loudly.

It was Grandma who answered.

"Grandma!" Gordon chirped, diving at the matriarch. Virgil soon followed and the woman had to quickly steady herself using the doorframe to prevent toppling over.

"My my, it's nice to see you boys again! Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was cool." Virgil leant over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Where's dad?"

"He's in the garden at the moment. He wasn't expecting you boys until later today, so invited me over to make lunch." she winked.

Scott and John soon trundled in after, with John dropping the heavy rucksack onto the floor. "Hey grandma." they all chorused.

"Well good afternoon my sweets!" she gave each of them a kiss. "Now then, before your father gets here I'd like you to tell the the damage."

"Damage, grandma?" Scott asked.

"I noticed that a bag of my chocolate goodies has mysteriously disappeared." she raised an eyebrow, noticing how John's normally stoic face suddenly morphed into a tense expression. "Would you have anything to do with that, John?"

Seeing his dad approaching, John swiftly decided to change the subject. "Hey dad! It's nice to see you again!"

Jeff smiled at his sons, "Hi John. You boys have fun?"

"Never mind that - since when do you do the gardening?" Scott grinned, taking in his dad's unusual attire. Instead of a business suit he was wearing tatty brown overalls and a pair of green rubber gloves.

"Since your grandmother decided she wanted those spare bulbs." Jeff smiled fondly, "So I decided to tidy up the garden a little while I was at it. It's a lovely day."

"That reminds me Jefferson - you'll be needing to top up with more sun cream after lunch."

"Yes mother."

"Don't want you burnt to a crisp!" she said as she made her way back into the kitchen to check on her eggs.

"So boys, how was the trip?" Jeff asked, turning to his bedraggled sons.

"It was awesome!"

"Yeah, it was great!"

"Would you do it again?" came Jeff's question.

"Yes! Apart from the falling into the sinkhole bit." Alan beamed.

At the horrified look his father shot him, Scott knew the boys wouldn't be allowed to go camping again, unless it was in the safety of their own back garden.


End file.
